June 2018: Weather/Climate Review For South Central NE/North Central KS

Recap of June 2018 Weather for the 30-county NWS Hastings Coverage Area: 

June 2018 Precipitation

- Rainfall: On a positive note (especially for those with ag interests), June featured above-normal rainfall across at least 80% of the area (some places several inches above normal), and even for those limited locations that were below normal, most were only slightly-below. For much of the area, the overall-rainiest week centered between the 19th-25th. Per dozens of NWS/CoCoRaHS observers, a few of the highest June totals featured: 10.03" near Genoa, 9.49" seven miles south-southeast of Ord, 9.48" at Belgrade, 9.45" east of Waco and 9.23" near Sherman Reservoir. At Smith Center KS, 6.33" of June rain finally broke an EIGHT-MONTH stretch of below-normal precipitation. On the drier (but not extremely dry) side of things, a few of the lowest monthly amounts included: 2.10" at both Phillipsburg and Kirwin Dam KS, 2.58" south of Wilcox, 2.87" at Kearney airport and 2.94" at Logan KS. ** PLEASE NOTE: Because most official observers report on a 24-hour basis from 7AM-7AM, any heavy rain that fell on the afternoon-night of June 30th was reported on July 1st and will be officially included with July totals. **

As for 1-day/24-hour-or-less rainfall totals, the highest official amounts (most rain fell on the 19th) featured: 5.14" near Chester and 4.63" at Formoso KS. Unofficially, there was a report of 7" south of Gilead in far southeastern Thayer County from this same event. 

- Flooding: Although no major/widespread flooding occurred during the month, several localized pockets of 3-4+" rain in a short time prompted mainly minor/short-term flooding issues. Portions of the following counties were issued Flash Flood Warnings during June (date in parentheses): Nance/Merrick (6th), Thayer (19th), Furnas/Harlan (19th), Jewell/Smith/Nuckolls (19th), Phelps/Gosper (19th), Fillmore (24th...Milligan area). As for flooding along larger streams and rivers detected by automated gauges, there was little to speak of, although the White Rock Creek near Burr Oak KS crested 1.65 ft. above flood stage on the 21st. In addition, although it technically didn't reach flood stage until the daylight hours of July 1st, very heavy rain on June 30th over western Rooks County KS (and especially slightly upstream over Graham County (just outside the NWS Hastings area), caused flooding along the South Fork Solomon River upstream of Webster Reservoir. This was the second time in 5 weeks that this stretch of the South Fork Solomon north of Damar saw flooding! 

- Temperatures: Continuing a warmer-than-normal trend from May, June ended up as Top-10 warmest-on-record for much of the area, as most official stations averaged 3-5º above normal. At Grand Island and Hastings airports, this was the 8th and 10th-warmest June on record, respectively. The overall-warmest week of the month focused between the 13th-19th, which was immediately followed by the overall-coolest week between the 20th-26th.   Probably more impressively, when combining both May and June, it was the 2nd-warmest on record at Grand Island, and 3rd-warmest at Hastings! As for monthly extremes per official NWS observers/stations, some of the hottest readings (date in parentheses) featured: 104º at Smith Center KS (28th) and 103º at several sites including Beloit KS (28th), Grand Island airport (15th) and Hebron airport (10th). On the cooler side of things, the lowest overnight lows occurred on the 3rd at most locations, including: 45º at Edison and Cambridge, and 47º at Gothenburg and Lexington and Ord airports.

- Severe Thunderstorms/Tornadoes (for all finalized/official severe storm reports refer to NCEI Storm Events Database):
- # of confirmed tornadoes during June 2018: 8...all rated EF-0, fairly weak/brief with little to no damage. One near Ord on the evening of June 1st...one near Huntley on the afternoon of the 19th...four "landspouts" near Fairmont on the afternoon of the 24th...two in southeastern Phelps County on the afternoon of the 30th (possible other unconfirmed brief touchdowns in southwestern Kearney County). 
- Largest known hail stone reported to NWS Hastings: 2.5" diameter (tennis ball size)...near Loomis on the afternoon of the 30th 
- Strongest known measured thunderstorm wind gust: 91 MPH four miles east-southeast of Oxford on the early AM of the 7th...this was an unofficial gust from a personal weather station, but damage reports in the area verified this localized wind event. The highest gust from an official wind sensor was 74 MPH at Grand Island airport during the very early morning of the 9th.
- Notable thunderstorm damage: 1) Roughly halfway between Oxford-Orleans on the 7th: uprooted trees/overturned pivots/windows blown out of home...2) Arapahoe on the 30th: significant hail damage and some wind damage in town...3) Rural southeast Clay County on the 30th: Damage at a few farms included carports destroyed, garage roof severely damaged, etc. 
- # of Severe Thunderstorm Warnings issued by NWS Hastings: 78 (this was four more than last June) 
- # of Tornado Warnings issued by NWS Hastings: 13  (this was 13 more than last June, when none were issued)
- The most active severe weather days (generally with the most reports): 1st, 9th, 19th and 30th

2018 Nebraska Cooperative Observer Precipitation Tables (around 45 sites)
2018 Kansas Cooperative Observer Precipitation Tables (around 17 sites)

2017 Nebraska Cooperative Observer Precipitation Tables (around 45 sites)
2017 Kansas Cooperative Observer Precipitation Tables (around 17 sites)

Archived Precipitation Tables And Monthly Climate Stories